Police and publicans in Hull city centre have been praised for working in partnership and living up to the Purple Flag promise of providing a safe and enjoyable night out.
Matthew Grove, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside, said the partners can approach the forthcoming Purple Flag renewal inspection with confidence after striving to build on the success of two years ago.
Business owners throughout the city centre supported Mr Grove’s assertion and credited Purple Flag with having made a key contribution to Hull’s City of Culture campaign.
Guy Toland, a Director of Leonardo’s Bistro Bar in Princes Dock Street, said: “We’ve had people from Leeds and Sheffield coming in – people who have visited Hull because they’ve heard about City of Culture and they want to know what the fuss is about. They’ve been pleasantly surprised by our city.”
Mr Grove has monitored the progress of Hull city centre closely since the first Purple Flag award, which came in November 2012 and which identifies areas as offering a safe and enjoyable night out – in the same way that the Blue Flag signals the best beaches.
He conducted an evening tour of city centre licensed premises in April 2013 and again last month.
He said: “Going out and looking at what’s being done, particularly for Purple Flag, is a fundamental part of my job and it is also a really pleasurable thing to do because I am immensely proud of the achievements of those people who secured Purple Flag status. It’s no mean feat because others have tried and not succeeded.
“The reassuring thing is that since the initial award of Purple Flag two years ago no one has sat back on their laurels. They have carried on making the city an even safer and more attractive place to spend an evening.
“What Purple Flag has done is made the city a more attractive place to come and spend your money on an evening. Not only is it a safer place to do that; it has also reduced the demands on our finite policing resources.
“In fact it’s helping the city become self-policing. The people and the businesses are able to identify potential trouble and avoid it by working in partnership with the police. More people are coming into the city centre. Fewer crimes are committed and fewer people are finding themselves victims of crime.”
Robert Jackson, whose Star Of The West pub in Trinity House Lane was visited by Mr Grove as part of the latest tour of licensed premises, said: “I have been running pubs in the Old Town for 10 years and there has been a big improvement.
“There is a good cross-section of people coming into the area and the Purple Flag is a tremendous badge of which signifies safety and enjoyment. It has certainly added value to the city centre and I’m sure it will have helped the City of Culture bid.
“With its general work and with the campaign for Purple Flag, HullBID has brought together the businesses involved in the evening economy and we are all working together to make a night in the Old Town a safer and more enjoyable experience.”
Guy Toland added: “We get a good mix of people and there is also a massive sense of community among the businesses in the area. We all work together and help each other and we also work closely with the police.”
Inspectors from the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) awarded Hull’s first Purple Flag after conducting an inspection over the Freedom Festival weekend in September 2012. They renewed the status after a “light-touch” re-assessment last year.
The successful Purple Flag campaign was led by a partnership which includes HullBID, Hull City Council, Humberside Police, Hull Citysafe, the NHS and many individual businesses. The next full inspection will take place over the weekend of Saturday November 1.
Kathryn Shillito, HullBID City Centre Manager, said: “We were thrilled when Hull was awarded a Purple Flag and ever since that moment all of the partners, who include city centre businesses, have worked towards making further improvements.
“We are proud of the efforts of those partners and we look forward to showing the inspectors from the ATCM how much Hull has improved since that first inspection. We measure our progress by the safety and enjoyment of the people who use our city centre, by the feedback from businesses who report increased trade and by reports from the police, who work closely with our evening economy group.
“But we are not complacent because we are determined to keep Hull on the nationwide list of only 42 Purple Flag destinations.”
Pictured: Matthew Groves speaks with Guy Toland of Leonardo's Bistro & Bar during last year's Purple Flag walkabout.
ABOUT PURPLE FLAG
Purple Flags are awarded to cities and towns which manage their night time economy well and can demonstrate they have a lot to offer visitors.
The centres also need to demonstrate that they offer a safe and clean environment for visitors and residents. The Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) allocates the Purple Flag award once a city has met all of their criteria.
Hull is one of only 42 towns and cities throughout the UK and Ireland to achieve Purple Flag status, which has been shown to benefit towns and cities by generating:
• Increased visitor numbers
• Increased investment
• Lower levels of crime and anti-social behaviour
• A raised profile and improved public image
